


Dates are overrated

by WanderingWanda



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, post-identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 04:25:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5361332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingWanda/pseuds/WanderingWanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt: "Post identity Reveal, Adrien showing Marrinette his father's private fabric room."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dates are overrated

**Author's Note:**

> So for the first time, the title doesn't come from a song, which is why it sucks, but oh, well. French being my first language, there are probably some mistakes here and there, I apologize!  
> Bonne lecture !

One could have thought that Adrien’s uneasiness was linked to the fact that he was in his father’s private fabric room, a place he had no business in being. Wrong.

Okay, maybe it did make him a bit anxious, too. Adrien had no pleasure in disappointing and angering his father. They had a rocky relationship and it would be bad for him to get caught in this place. But today, he wanted to be bold.

Except that the girl with him had the ability to make his knees feeble and his mouth dry with a single glance at him.

“You’re okay?”

Adrien felt like Marinette’s blue eyes were looking right through him. His cheeks became hotter than Libya. He tried to stay impassive, but failed miserably. Noticing his trouble, Marinette looked away.

“You sure we can be here?” she said, while observing with interest the shelves full of expensive fabric. In Gabriel Agreste’s room, everything was well organized and he used only material of quality.

“Well, it’s not a problem if no one knows we’re here…”

Marinette was so expressive that Adrien still wondered how he didn’t understand sooner what had been going on for months between them. Right now, her eyebrows were slightly frowned, and she had a glint in her eyes. It increased Adrien’s agitation. It seemed like, since they had discovered each other’s real identity, Adrien was the stuttering mess around Marinette, whereas the girl had started to act more like her alter ego. Or maybe she had always been like that, but Adrien did not know, because, around him, she had been unexpectedly bashful.

“That sounded very Chat Noir of you” she commented quietly, smiling faintly. Adrien was relieved: it wasn’t a criticism.

After their masks had fallen, Adrien and Marinette’s relationship had become… Rather cold. She had been avoiding the blonde boy, at school and on patrols. This saddened Adrien more than he could tell: he had never expected his Lady to be the quiet, shy, slightly awkward Marinette, but he wasn’t disappointed. He had seen her stand up for others, be brave in situations of danger, and her kindness was heartwarming. The more he looked at Marinette, the more he could recognize the superhero of Paris. It just  _made sense_.

After a month, he had succeeded in restoring the communication: she stopped rushing out of class every time he tried to talk to her, she stopped giving Chat Noir (who was definitely less kittenish and flirty) the cold shoulder, and Adrien could sometimes, in class or during patrols, feel her eyes lingering on him.

At first, Adrien was clueless: why did she react so badly to him being Chat Noir? Nino had given him the answer, without knowing.

“What did you do to Marinette?” had asked Nino one day, after the black-haired girl had hid in a classroom when she had seen the two teenage boys approaching. “She’s weirder than usual. Did you reject her or something?”

“Reject?” Adrien had repeated, hopeless. He wanted to talk to her  _so bad_. “For what would I have _rejected her_?”

Nino had chuckled slightly. “Well, I guess I have my answer. Damn, you really  _are_  oblivious. She has a huge crush on you, you idiot.”

Initially, Adrien couldn’t believe that. Marinette (a.k.a. Ladybug, the girl  _he_  loved)  _fancied him_?

But that did explain why she stuttered and seemed always so anxious around him, whereas she acted confident when she didn’t know he was looking at her. Was she disappointed? Learning that perfect boy Adrien Agreste was flirty, pun-loving, boastful Chat Noir must have been a huge turn off.

That hurt. The realization that maybe Marinette liked the image he showed to the world more than the real him had been a huge blow to his heart. He had spent hours locked in his room, brooding over those thoughts like an angsty teenager, until Plagg, being the helpful kwami he was, had remarked that his attitude was pathetic and that the situation wasn’t going to get better just by ignoring it.

So Adrien had decided to take care of it. Knowing that Ladybug was Marinette Cheng had only increased the feelings he had for her: she was no longer some sort of distant deity, but a normal girl, flawed like him, who had the inner strength to become something more. Gathering all his courage, he had asked Marinette out. Well, he never said it was a  _date_. One day, out of the blue, he went to her, while she was laughing with Alya (this mere sound was sufficient to motivate him. He wanted to hear it more often, and be the person to make her giggle next time), and blurted out: “Hey, Marinette, wanna go to my father’s office? I know you want to be a designer, it could be a good opportunity to meet people and see how they work.”

(For the two girls, it sounded way less self-assured, and more like dying noises, which Alya had found both cute and awkward, and had left Marinette feeling weird things in her stomach.)

And there were they, sneaking in Gabriel’s private fabric room. Adrien thought that it was a good start. Maybe they could sort everything out before introducing Marinette to his father’s coworkers (only the nicest, the ones who would stay silent about their visit).

“Is your father making a ladybug themed collection?” Marinette wondered, pointing at a red fabric with black spots.

“I think so,” Adrien answered, trying to sound laid-back. “She’s quite popular and loved by the whole city, I guess it must inspire him.”

“What about Chat Noir?”

“Ah, that’s not the same. Ladybug is the real heroine of Paris.”

Marinette looked away, but not quickly enough for Adrien not to notice that her face flushed bright pink.

“What a shame.” Her voice resonated in the room. “He’s quite badass. And Ladybug is nothing without her Chat Noir.”

Adrien had to restrain himself from doing anything stupid, like yelling or jumping. He wanted to embrace her, to rest his chin on her head, and never let her go.

_Boundaries, Adrien. Boundaries._

She finally looked at him. They were close enough for Adrien to notice the freckles creating constellations on her silky face.

It was enough to make his brain melt and make him say something stupid: “Well, that’s a good beginning for a date, right?”

From an outside perspective, it probably looked like they were playing at “Whose face can turn into the darkest shade of red in less than one minute?” They were ex aequo.

_Adrien, what a freaking moron. Oh my God._

Marinette chuckled lightly, between embarrassment and amusement. Adrien’s heart missed a beat.

“So, this is a date?” she asked boldly, and Adrien knew that he was completely smitten.


End file.
